Smokeless boiler-furnace.



F. A. SHOEMAKBR.

. SMOKELESS BOILER FURNAGE.

APPLIGATION FILED JULY 5,1912.

3;,097,'7 35. Patented May 26, 1914;k

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

F. A. SHOEMAKER.

SMOKELSS BOILER PURNACE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 5,1912.

l ygsffgv Patented May 26, 1914.

l 2 SHEETS-SHEEP? 2, Z' r l @@@QQQQ 5 H #3f @@@QQQG UMTED gSTATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK A. SHOEMAKE'R, OF BUFFALO, ANEIN YORK, ASSIG'NOB. T0 STURDY SMO'KELESS FURNACE COMPANY, 'OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, :A @EPURATION 0F NEW YORK.

SMDKELESS BOILEEFURNAGE.

Specioaton of Letters Patent.

Patented May 26, 1914.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, FRANK A. Snoe- MAKER, a citizen :of the United States, residing at Buffalo, in the countyof Erie and State of New York, have invented new and useful .Improvements in' Smokeless Boiler- Furnaces, of which the following is a specilication.

My invention relates to boiler furnaces and more particularly to a smokeless boiler furnace; it having for its objects the provision of a furnace whereby lthe products of combustion may be practically entirely consumed and the fuel economically used, also the provision of means for conveniently converting the furnace from anatural draftV to a forced draft furnace; to provide means for conveniently and quickly disposing of clinlrerswithin the firing chambers; to so arrange the same that the water tubes thereof maybe easily blown olf to clear the same of diment; .and to otherwiseimprove on boiler furnaces of this type. 1

The invention consists 1n the arrangement and construction of parts to be herein-after described and particularly pointed outv in the subj oned claims.

In this improved boiler furnace any suitable boiler may be used in connect-ion with the other portionof the furnace, and it has a combustion chamber in `such 'relation to the boiler that the products of combustion act most eliicient-ly against the same inits course to the smokestack; Firing chambers are provided at opposite sides of the combustion chamber with water tubes arranged in series andserving as divisional walls between the combustion chamber and the fu'-- ing chambers, said water tubes being ar-4 ranged upright and having manifolds at op-l posite ends which are connected withV the boiler to provide means for a perfect circu lation of the water through these walls. Beneath the combustion chamber a forced air draft compartment is provided which is in communication with the tiring chambers through the ash pits andthe lire grates of the tiring chambers, the outer sides of the latter being' provided with fixed inclined tire grates and oscillating 'lire' grates formed of bars capable. of being moved toward and from the main grate bars so as to enlarge or diminish the spaces between the two,

whereby clinkers may be removed from the" firing chambers when the spaces between said oscillating .grateszand the main grates are enlarged, and' means for actuating said oscillating gratesi The lower ends of the walls separating the ring chambers from the combustion chamber are' provided with means for blowing osaid walls and the of one end of one of the oscillating re grates. Fig. 4 is a transversesection on an` enlarged scale, taken on line 4-4, Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a section on a reduced scale, taken on line 5 5, Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a broken longitudinal section taken on line `5--'5, Fig.l 4. Referring now to the drawings in detail like numerals of reference refer to like parts in the several figures.

The furnace has the usual brick inclosure comprising a front wall 7 the side walls '8, 9, the rear'wall 10, and to wall 11. Within sai-d inclosure. is app `ed an suitable boiler 12, that shown being an or inarjy flue lboiler supported in any suitable manner.

At the rear of the boiler is a plate 13 which extends-from sidewall to side wall so as to direct the roducts of combustion through the flueso .the boiler and into the smokestack 14. y'Arranged centrally underneath the `front ortion of the boiler is a combusf tion cham er 15 which opens at' its rear end into the compartment or passage 16 which extends underneath, and around the sides ofthe boiler'12 and upwardly in rear of the latter.- :The'boiler 1Q serves `as the top wall of the combustion chamber 'sov that the flame 'and heat come indirect contact with the boiler throughout its length.

Arranged' at opposite sides of the combustion chamber are firing chambers 17 which are separated from the combustion chamber lby articulated divisional walls 18, com rising preferably upright water tubes 19 aving horizontally disposed i circular upper and' lower ends or. heads 20 which are brought together and connected in any suitable manner to create manifolds at the upperand' lower ends ofthe divisional wall thus formed. The lower manifold of each formed of connected sect-ions and in order that the sections may be exact counterparts, l provide at opposite ends of each manifold chambers23 which are of substantially the same cross-sectional formation as the manifold and serve to close the ends of the latter. One of t-he chambers of each lower manifold has the pipe 21 threaded thereinto, as at 24, Fig. 2, and the other chamber has a blow-off pipe25 threaded thereinto, said blow-oft' pipe'being adapted to be led to a sewer, direct-ly or indirectly, or to any other suitable place, as shown in Fig. 1 Said pipe 25 is provided with av suitable valve 26 which is closed, except when cleaning out the boiler 12 and divisional walls 18. One of the chambers 23 of each upper manifold has its cooperating return pipe 22 threaded thereinto and its end wall provided with a threaded opening closed by a plug 27 which may be removed to obtain access to the interior of the manifold, this being desirable in the particular construction disclosed owing to the fact that within one of the ohanibers 23 of each manifold perforated lugs 28 are interiorly provided through which is passed o-ne of the ends of tie rods 29, said rods being inserted through the opposite chamber 23`and having nuts 30 applied to opposite ends, which upon being tightened upon said rods draw the sections of the divisional walls securely together, suitable packing 31 being provided between the heads 2O to prevent leakage of water. The tie rods of the lower manifold are accessible through the opening 32 into which the blow-olf pipe 25 is threaded, so that by removing said blow-0H pipe and the plug 27 of the upper manifold, the tie-rods may be reached to permit separation of the several sections constituting the divisional wall, for making repairs' or otherwise. y

The tiring chambers 17 are closed at the rear by walls 33 and at the top by walls 34 extending from the sides 8, 9, to the boiler and also by vert-ical walls 35 extending downward from the boilerv to the upper manifold. The tubes constituting the divisional walls 18 between the combust-ion chamber and the firing chambers Vare separated from each other at points between the manifolds by intervening spaces 36, except along the upper ends of the tubes at which point they are provided with webs or ns 37 which extend downwardly from theupper manifolds a suitable distance with the webs or tins of each tube lying in contact with those of adjoining tubes. The firing chambers are therefore in communication with the combustion chamber only at points between the lower ends of said webs or lins and the lower manifolds, for a purpose to be hereinafter described. y

Beneath the combustion chamber is a forced draft chamber 38 which is separated from. sai-d combustion chamber by the wall 39, and on opposite sides of said forced draft chamber are ash pits 40 separated from said forced draft chamber by walls 41 which serve as supports for the Wall 39, the divisional walls 18 and the inner ends of horizontal or main fire grates 42 arranged between the firing chambers andthe ash pits, the outer ends of said grates being supported in the side walls, 8', 9, as at 43. The forced draft chamber 38 is in communicationwith the ash pits 40 by means of passages 44 arranged in the walls 4l, and by means of a fan or other apparatus the forced draft may be introduced into the firing chambers from the forced draft chamber 38, but it is apparent that this boiler furnace is also adapted for use in the ordinary way without introducing the forced draft feature into it.

The grate bars of the horizontal or main tire grates 42 extend only through a portion of the width of the grates, so as to leave a comparatively/large space or opening 45 between said bars and the side walls 8, 9, as best shown in Fig. 4, and in connection with said grates I employ inclined grates 46, 47, which are arranged to project inwardly and downwardly, said inclined grates being in planes directly above the spaces or openings 45 provided between the grate bars of the main re grates 42 and the side walls. The inclined grates are preferably arrange-d in pairs at each side of the furnace, one grate, designated 46, of each pair being fixed and the other, designated 47, being arranged for movement toward and from the grate-bars of the main grates 42. Y The'ixed inclined grates .46 are arranged above the movable inclined grates 47 and are supported upon brackets 48 secured to the side walls 8, 9, the bars of said fixed inclined grates being held against upward movement by abutments 49 built in said walls and being removable only by loosening the brackets 48. The grate-bars of said fixed inclined grates rest directly upon a longitudinally-disposed bar 50 carried by said brackets. 'Wit-hin the brackets 48, which are arranged vin pairs at each side of the furnace, are journaled shafts 51 to each.

of which is secured a series or set of gratebars o r teeth .'32, said grate-bars or teeth and said shafts constituting the movable grates 47. To the end grate-bars or teeth 52 of l y each 'series or set are connected one of the ends of toggles 53, the other end of each toggle being secured to a square actuating rod 54, which is journaled in plates 55 secured to the brackets 48 and having toggle bers.

supports 56 which rest upon the main grates 42, the forward ends of said square rods eXtend outwardly through the Vfront wall and are rendered accessible by opening the fire and clinker doors 57 of the firing chambers. n

The fixed inclined grates 46 are so arranged with reference to the movable or oscillating inclined grates 47 that the fuel moving downward in the firing chambers is prevented from packing, since it is neces-y 'sary that the fuel passes over the lower ends of the grate-bars of said fixed grates, which ends arey at the restricted portions of the tiring chambers, and then passesinto the enlarged lower end.

As is common in boiler furnaces, the ash pits have doors 58 and in order to feed fuel into the firing chambers, doors v59 are provided in the front wall of the furnace in line with the upper portion of said cham- A door 60 may be provided in the front wall for access to the combustion chamber and, if desired, a door 61 may be provided for access to thev forcedl draft chamber. The side Walls are provided with depressions 62 in their inner faces directly outside of the fixed inclined grates 46 so that the necessary space is provided outside ofsaid grates to permit the passage of air through .the latter.

In the operation of the furnace, the fuel is fed into lthe firing chambers 17 through the doors 59, the fuel being preferably ar ranged to a depth to entirely cover the three grates of each firing chamber, the divisional walls 18 between the combustion chamber 15 and said firing chambers preventing the fuel passing linto the combustion chamber and as said divisional walls are formed of tubes containing water they cannot readily burn out. The air is applied to the fuel through the openings closed by the door 59 andthrough the door openings of the ash pitsor when a forced draft isrelied upon it may be furnished from the forced draft 38, from which it may pass into the ash pits through the passages 44 and thence upwardly through the fire grates. The fiame and gases escape from the fuel through the tubular divisional walls 18 and enter the combustion chamber, the meeting flames and ygases entering the combustion chamber from` opposite sides commingle with the air in the combustion chamber, which air is admitted in anysuitable manner and brought in intimate contact with the gases so as to become immediately ignited and cause complete combustion of the unconsumed gases. The flame and heat passes rearwardly in contactwith the boiler tion chamber so that no smoke escapes from the furnace. The air admitted into the ash pits passes upwardly through the grates 37, through the movable inclined grates 47 into the spaces between the side walls and the fixed inclined grates 46 and through thel sol .In order to dispose of the clinkers it is -simply necessary to apply a wrench or other suitable toolfto the ends of the square actuating rods 54, which cause the. toggles 53 to assume theposition shown in dotted lines Fig. 4, thus causing the oscillating grate-bars or teeth 52 to swing from the position shown in full lines in said figure to that shown -i'n dotted lines. In other words` by the actuation of the toggles the movable or oscillating grates are caused to swing away from the main fire-grates 42 and provide a spacebetween the two for the ready removalvof clinkers from the firino cha-m bers, access to the firing chambers being had for this purpose through the openings `closed by the doors 57.

In order to blow off the boiler 12 and the tubular divisional walls 18 it is sim ly necessary to open the valve 26 inthe lowoff' pipe, whereupon the water in the boiler and said walls passes off` under forcev of the steam and carries with it allsediment.

'In the operation of the furnace the vamount of labor required is reduced to the minimum and all parts of theinterior are readily accessible. The construction shown and described assures perfect combustion and complete consumption of all smoke even when supplying the furnace-With fresh fuel,

'and by means of my improved arrangement for blowing-off the tubular divisional walls and boiler the highest heat efficiency 'is obtained owing to the interior of both being thereby easily kept in clean` condition. v

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is,-

1. A boiler furnace having a ycombustion chamber extending lengthwise,A a tubular wall at one side of said combustionchamber, a firing chamber separated from said combustion chamber by said tubular wall and closed at its rear, top and outer side, a main grate serving as a bottom of said firing chamber, and an inclined grate supported from the outer side of said combustion chamber.

2;`A boiler furnace having a combustion chamber, a forced draft chamber beneath said combustion chamber, a firing chamber at one side of said combustion chamber, and an articulated wall separating said firing chamber from said combustion chamber, said forced draft chamber and firingchamber being in communication.

3. A boiler furnace having a combustion chamber, a firing chamber, a wall separating'said combustionv from said firing chamber and having openings therein, a forced draft chamber beneath said combustion chamber and separated therefrom by a wall, an ash pit beneath' said firing chamber and separatedtherefrom by are-grate, and passages connecting said forced draft chamber with said ash pit.

4. A boiler furnace having a combustion chamber extending lengthwise, a firing chamber at one side of said combustion chamber and also extending lengthwise, a divisional wall between said firing chamber and combustion chamber comprising upper and lower manifolds and tubes connecting said manifolds, and a blow-0E pipe secured to one of said manifolds and having a valve therein.

5. A boilerv furnace having a combustion chamber, a firing chamber at on'eside of said combustion chamber separated therefrom by an articulated Wall,'a fire-grate at the lower end of said firing chamber, and two fre-grates at the side of said firing chamber, one of'said two re-gra'tesioverhanging the other. -4

6. A boiler furnace having a combustion chamber, a ring chamber at" one' side of said combustion chamber closed at its'rear end and at the top and separated from said combustion chamberby a Wall'having passages therein, a. fire-grate at the lower end of said tiring chamber havingits grate-bars separated from the side wall of said firingA chamber by a comparatively'large'space, an ash pit beneath said fire-grate and an inclined grate at the side of the firing chamber closino said comparatively large space from the fuel within said firing chamber.

7. A boiler furnace having a'com'bustion chamber, two tubular walls at opposite sides of said combustion chamber extending length wise, firing chambers outside of said walls closed at the top and at their rear ends, ash .pits beneath said firing chambers, lire'- grate's separating said ash-pits from said firing chambers and having grate-bars along their-inner portions only to provide comparatively large openings at their outer 'portions, an inclined grate arranged above each of said large openings and adapted to be moved toward and from the grate-bars of the first-mentioned grates to permit the discharge of clinkers from the firing chambers,- 8. A boiler furnace having a smokestack, a combustion chamber in communication with said smokes-tack, ring'chambers-atop# posite sides of said' combustion chambers 1n'- communication with saidl smokestack through said combustion chamber only', an ash pit beneath each firing chamber, a tiregrate separating said ash pits from said firing chambers and comprising three-sections, one of which is arrangedihorizontally and the others being inclined with respectto the outer'side'walls-of the ringchambers, one of said ,inclined re-grates being movable and the other' rigid and overhanging' the movable fire-grate.

9. A boiler furnace having a combustion chamber, a smokestack with which said combustion chamber is in communication, a seriesof'wa'ter tbesarran'ged lengthwise at opp'ositesides o fsaid combustion chamber and' separated'by intervening spaces, firing ichamb'ersout'side of said: Watertubes and in' communication" witlr said smokestack through said combustion' chamber'only, an -ash pit beneath leach ring chamber, h'ori izontally=disposed gratesbetween each ash pit andthc firing chamber directly above, said gratesli'aving'grate-bars at theirlinner portions only, a bracket secured to the outer :side wall ofeach firing chamber, fixed 'incli'nedffireigratesl carried' by said brackets, and an oscillating fire-grate' beneath' each .fixed inclined firegrate having its grate- :bars inclined and normally extendin'gjfr'om thel 'grate-bars l of "the li'orizontally-disposed :grates-'upwardly-f andv outwardly, said fixed inclined' iire-grates ov'erhangingv said oscillatingire-grates.

lOLIii ya boiler furnace, av firingch'amber ,having a horizontal fireigrate at'aits' lower lend provided with grate-bars' extending `from a point"about'midway between' the outer side wallofthe firing chamber to the inner wall thereof"so' as-to provide a'=com paratively large openinginl said grate bee tween" its-gr`atebars-`and said' outer fwall, an oscillatingy grate arrangedabove-said Iopenings and`comprisingashaft suitably journaled, grate-bars inclined:V inwardly and :downwardly from Isaid'shaft", ai rod 1 ar-y ranged parallel with saidv shaft; and: a"toggle connecting the oscillating grate with said rod whereby' said toscillatinggrate is 'caused 't0 swing/toward 'and 'frofmfthe grafte`- bars Aof said horizontal grate.

1l. In aboilerlfurna'ce, a' firing chamber having' a horizontal grate atfits"lower end with its gra tea-'bars separated from the" outer wall-of vsaid firing lchamber b'y a-'com'p'aratively large space, two inclined grate-bars ranging' from the grate-'bars of Said horizontal tire-grateupward tol said outer' side wall, oneof'said gra'te'barsbeing'fiked and the other' being movable toward and' from' the grate-hereof said horizontal lire-grate, said fixed inclined lire-grateoverhanging the movable fire-grate.- i

12. A boiler furnace having a combustion chamber1-a firing chamber outside of said combustion chamber separated by a Wall Provided with passages, the outer Wall of said chamber having a depression arranged lengthwise along its inner face, a lire-grate l arranged horizontally at th'e lower end of said firing chamber and having its grate-bars separated from said outer wall by a comparatively large space, and an inclined ire-grate arranged lengthwise along said outer wall and extending therefrom toward the horizontal fire-grate to overlie the space in the latter and the depression in said outer side wall.

13. A boiler furnace having a combustion chamber, a firing chamber spaced at one side of said chamber and separated therefrom by a wall having passages connecting both chambers, an ash vpit beneath said ring chamber, a fire-grate between said ash EMIL NEUHART, JACOB OBERST, J r. 

